Culigion and the emergence of Saudi institutional English in health college deans’ messages

Abstract

This study examines how Saudi health college deans construct institutional messages in English, revealing systematic linguistic features constituting an emerging variety shaped by 'culigion'—a unified cultural-religious schema that fundamentally restructures English. Analysis of four deans' messages (Medicine, Dentistry, Applied Medical Sciences, Pharmacy) from a Saudi university website employed a three-level framework examining micro-level lexical patterns, meso-level rhetorical structures, and macro-level sociocultural positioning. Findings demonstrate culigion operates as a variety-generating cultural model producing systematic innovations across all linguistic levels. A distinctive seven-phase rhetorical architecture blends Arabic and Anglo-American conventions, with religious framing establishing moral authority whilst middle sections navigate between national development goals and international standards. Collective voice markers (50.1 per 1,000 words) and cumulative coordination (43.4 per 1,000 words) reflect Islamic communal values and Quranic rhetoric. Lexical transformations show 'service' indexing collective benefit and 'excellence' manifesting through non-competitive accumulation. These features represent strategic innovation, enabling navigation between local authenticity and global intelligibility. The study contributes to World Englishes scholarship by documenting how expanding circle varieties develop through comprehensive cultural models. Pedagogically, findings challenge English-only policies, suggesting culigion features constitute legitimate resources. Saudi institutional English demonstrates how strategic hybridity honours cultural values whilst serving global academic purposes.